Atlanta has gotten mostly gold out of its offensive haul, but on defense things are less rosy.
If the Atlanta Falcons knocked it out of the park on offense with their free agent class, their defensive haul has been much more of a mixed bag.
Much of that can likely be laid at the feet of Raheem Morris and Jimmy Lake, who have cooked up a defense that displays a curious and consistent lack of aggression and playmaking ability that seemingly has infected every player outside of Mike Hughes and Kaden Elliss. But it can also be said that Atlanta’s play to shore up key weaknesses with 30-plus veterans has not panned out the way they had hoped, and that has been part of the reason the defense has been such a letdown throughout the season.
We talk enough about the rookies each week—and their roles have been small, anyways—so we’ll focus on veteran free agent and trade additions here. We’ll also be focusing purely on new additions, rather than re-signings like Mike Hughes, as great as he has been. Let’s get to it.
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OLB Matthew Judon
You had to be excited about Judon. He’s an older player, sure, and one coming off an injury. Even so, he had been a consistently productive pass rusher for a long time, the kind of player the Falcons desperately needed to add after losing Bralen Trice and not adding any other impact players to their group of outside linebackers. Judon, who came over in exchange for a third round pick from the Patriots, figured to give Atlanta a consistent presence who could help lift the rest of the unit.
That hasn’t happened, making this trade a disaster for Atlanta. Judon is fourth on the team in pressures behind Kaden Elliss, Arnold Ebiketie, and Grady Jarrett, but that’s with the second highest number of snaps where he’s rushing the passer behind Jarrett. He has the highest number of called penalties on the defense, and while he has delivered three batted balls and is tied for the team lead in sacks, his pass rush win rate per Pro Football Focus is 11th on the team. By any reasonable measure, Judon has played poorly, with some decent days in coverage and defending the run failing to make up for the spotty results as a pass rusher and inability to recover once someone starts running by him.
The scheme has done him zero favors, something Judon has acknowledged, but he just hasn’t looked like the same player in Atlanta this season. Barring a late 2024 revival that sees him find his feet—and I will say the sack of Bo Nix where Judon bullied the tackle into his lap was a solid start—this will go down as a third round pick this front office set on fire. Good idea and player on paper, poor results in practice.
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S Justin Simmons
The Simmons signing was one we all pined for, and like Judon, the kind of move we all applauded in the moment. Like Judon, though, Simmons has been an underwhelming addition.
Throw away a handful of nice open field tackles and that killer interception against Patrick Mahomes and you have a player who has the highest missed tackle rate of any Falcon who has played the majority of the season, is credited by PFF with the fifth-highest yardage total and highest-yards per reception of any Falcons starter, and very few big plays outside of that pick. Simmons has not been bad, per se, but he’s been maybe a slightly less than average starter on balance for a team that was looking to add a clear upgrade to Richie Grant and/or replacement for an injured DeMarcco Hellams. As good as Simmons has been and valuable as he is in the locker room as a leader of men, his play has been…pretty so-so.
Like Judon, Simmons can turn on the jets late in the season and we’ll forget all about what’s happened to this point. It’s not particularly great that the two headliner acquisitions on defense for this team have looked like shells of their former terrific selves, however, and points again to their usage in Jimmy Lake’s defense as a problem.
OLB James Smith-Williams
He has been exactly what you would expect, given his track record to this point. JSW was a solid run defender, a consistently useful player in coverage, and a sporadic asset as a pass rusher. He was basically what Lorenzo Carter was counted on to be before Lake and JSW showed up in Atlanta.
Now, unfortunately, he’s hurt and will miss at least another three weeks, if not the rest of the season. The Falcons will miss him because solid, dependable players are at a premium in this defense, and it’s certainly possible that JSW could return to what we hope is a very beefed up outside linebacker group in 2025 if he’s willing to take on a lesser role.
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CB Kevin King
As an unexpected addition to the roster who has been pressed into action after basically three seasons away from football, King has done just fine. He’s been a special teams contributor and, while struggling in coverage, has provided solid work against the run. That’s about all any of us have the right to expect, and it’s a shame he got hurt against the Broncos and didn’t have an opportunity to show more.
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DL Eddie Goldman
The long-awaited, highly-anticipated Eddie Goldman season. He played quite a bit early on with missed results, went on a bit of a hiatus where he fell out of the rotation. In the past few weeks, though, he’s been playing more and playing well, delivering as the kind of space eater and run defender the Falcons badly need.
Goldman is an early down asset when he’s on, and as time goes on he seems to be rounding into form. The Falcons are going to need him at his best with Brian Robinson, Chuba Hubbard, J.K. Dobbins, and other talented backs over the final six weeks.
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CB Antonio Hamilton
The veteran cornerback was coming off a successful season in Arizona when he was signed and figured to compete with Mike Hughes and Clark Phillips for a starting role, but he settled in as the team’s fifth cornerback on the final roster. It seemed like the team would enjoy tremendous depth at corner because of that.
Hamilton has battled injuries this year that have had him miss time, and his one extended stint filling in was a disaster, as Pro Football “credited” him with three receptions allowed for 48 yards and two touchdowns. His track record suggests Hamilton will do better if he’s thrown into the fire again, but the hope is that he won’t have to be. Thus far, he hasn’t delivered much for Atlanta.
The verdict: A letdown
When you spend a third round pick and significant free agent dollars, you’re hoping to get players who help to elevate your defense. What you’re not anticipating is that you might get back two starters who are merely decent—in the case of Judon you can argue for less than that—and then some part-time starters and role players who range from solid to unspectacular.
The Falcons drafted two young defensive linemen who have barely played, but otherwise their plan seemed to be betting on existing starters, players returning from injury, and young players either maintaining last year’s level or improving with a new coaching staff. That bet has been a bust to this point outside of a few stretches, and after this front office hit a home run last year with Jessie Bates and doubles with Kaden Elliss and David Onyemata, the lack of success this year is particularly glaring. The hope is that there will be improvement in the final six weeks as the Falcons chase a playoff spot, or else the lack of lift provided by trade and free agency on defense might be one of the more hotly debated failures of the season when we hit January.